Identity management for implementing vehicle access and operation management

ABSTRACT

Described are techniques for monitoring use of a shared resource, such as physical resource, for example, a motor vehicle. The techniques include receiving an electronic representation of a user&#39;s identity, by a vehicle access application executable in a computing system in the vehicle, sending by the computing system to an identity and access management system the received electronic representation of the user&#39;s identity, receiving by the computing system from the identity and access management system credentials that validate the electronic representation of the user&#39;s identity, and enabling by the computing system starting of the vehicle when the computing system receives the credentials that validated the user&#39;s identity.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to provisionalU.S. Patent Application 62/561,743, filed on Sep. 22, 2017, entitled:“Methods and Apparatus for implementing Identity and Access Management,”the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

This description relates to operation of networks for dissemination ofinformation for vehicle access and operation.

Access control systems commonly employ access cards or physical keys orphysical fobs that include corresponding embedded electronic credentialsthat are read by a corresponding reader. Access to a motor vehicle forinstance merely requires possession of a physical key (with or withoutembedded credentials).

It is common for computer systems to gather information, such asproprietary data on individuals. One type of information is proprietarydata such as “personally identifiable information” commonly referred toas “PII.” PII is information of a sensitive, personal nature that isgenerally associated with individuals and is often protected by privacylaws in many jurisdictions. PII is information that can identify orcontact or locate a single person or to identify an individual incontext. Examples of PII include name, social security number, date andplace of birth, mother's maiden name, biometric records and informationthat is linkable to an individual, such as medical, educational,financial, and employment information, as well as a user's device IPaddress used in a communication service broker.

Another type of information is proprietary data such as MachineIdentifiable Information or “MII,” such as in the context of the“Internet of Things.” That is, other information that is collectedincludes operational information such as information used to controlaccess control systems, intrusion detection systems and integratedsecurity/alarm systems. For different reasons each of these types ofinformation may have a sensitive nature that should limit the ubiquitousretention of such information in disparate systems.

Modern information technology and the Internet have made it easier tocollect PII and MII through various mechanisms leading to variousproblems such as aiding of criminal acts, identity theft, etc.

Various systems employed in vehicles contain dedicated microprocessorsthat run firmware to measure various parameters. For example, batteryproducts are ever increasingly containing microprocessors that runfirmware to measure battery load, voltage, temperature etc. andcommunicate directly with the main vehicle computer system.

SUMMARY

The techniques described herein provide a higher level of identityvalidation that will be required as access management services areexpanded to encompass a greater range of functionality. The describedarchitecture provides validation of the person who is in possession ofan identity item as opposed to merely validating the item itself.

According to an aspect, a method includes receiving an electronicrepresentation of a user's identity, by a vehicle access applicationexecutable in a computing system in the vehicle, sending by thecomputing system to an identity and access management system thereceived electronic representation of the user's identity, receiving bythe computing system from the identity and access management systemcredentials that validate the electronic representation of the user'sidentity, and enabling by the computing system starting of the vehiclewhen the computing system receives the credentials that validated theuser's identity.

Aspects also include computer program products and methods. Additionalfeatures of the computer program product, systems and methods includeother features disclosed herein.

One or more of the above aspects may provide one or more of thefollowing advantages.

In some implementations, these aspects enable user devices to transmitPII (and other confidential information) without that information beinghosted by third party (requesting systems) that would otherwise manageand store such PII (and other confidential information). In otherimplementations information can be hosted by third party systems or suchinformation can be held by third party systems for attestation purposes,e.g., a registry such as a motor vehicle registry.

Currently third party requester systems are ubiquitous, but thetechniques currently employed make such information vulnerable toimproper access and disclosure through various types of hacking attackson any of the ubiquitous numbers of third party requester systems.

The disclosed techniques including an application that in conjunctionwith the distributed ledgers can send to user devices containing awallet a verified access or access error depending on the outcome ofprocessing. All exchanges are logged in the distributed ledger for audittracking, etc. and verification of information can be used withinformation in the distributed ledger. Records are added to thedistributed ledger as transactions and include a hashed record of thetransaction, what was exchanged, the signatures of the parties, and mayinclude additional detailed information depending on the type ofdistributed ledger used.

The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth inthe accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features,objects, and advantages of the invention is apparent from thedescription and drawings, and from the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary system for securing PIIinformation.

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of an exemplary system for vehicle accessand operation management employing a PII system such as FIG. 1.

FIG. 1B is a flow diagram of P-II-based vehicle access and operationmanagement processing.

FIGS. 2-4 are flow diagrams of vehicle access and operation managementprocessing.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a distributed ledger.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a broker system.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an identity wallet.

FIGS. 8-10 are block diagrams for message exchange processes.

FIGS. 11 and 12 are block diagrams.

FIGS. 12A-12C and 13A-13C are flow diagrams.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an exemplary device/system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Described herein is use of an IAM system (Identity and AccessManagement) for vehicle access verification. The IAM system includes aset of techniques that provide a solution using a private service brokerfor dissemination of information such as PII (as well as otherconfidential information) between two or more electronic devices. Thedissemination of information occurs in a controlled, secure andconfidential manner. Also described is a mechanism that allows for theverification of information including PII (as well as other confidentialinformation), and credentials, without the actual disclosure of the PII(as well as other confidential information).

The vehicle access verification system described uses a combination ofan identity wallet that executes on a user device, a distributed ledgerthat manages proxies for PII (as well as other confidentialinformation), along with a service broker system that securely managesdata transmissions and verifications of the data without actually havingthe wallet directly access the distributed ledger. In someimplementations the service broker is not needed.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an exemplary distributed network IAM system 10(system 10) for access control and identity credential verification isshown. Approaches as discussed in detail in below use an Identity Wallet13 a, 13 b with a distributed ledger 14 back-end that replaces thetypical centralized database (not shown). The ID Wallet/distributedledger approach provides enhanced user experience, security, complianceand so forth, as discussed below. The ID Wallet can replace and/orcomplement a conventional physical access key or ignition key.

The system 10 includes user devices, here wireless enabled user mobiledevices, such as smartphones 12 a, 12 b that house respective identitywallets 13 a, 13 b. The smartphones 12 a, 12 b house the identitywallets (also referred to herein simply as wallets) 13 a, 13 b,respectively and thus carry user credentials and by use of the walletand a processor on the smartphone, interacts with portions of the accesscontrol system 10.

The term “smartphone” is used to describe a mobile phone device thatexecutes an advanced mobile operating system. The smartphone hashardware and a mobile operating system with features of personalcomputer hardware and operating systems along with features required formobile or handheld operation, such as those functions needed for use ofthe smartphone as a cell phone and includes GPS (global position system)navigation. The smartphone executes applications (apps) such as a mediaplayer, as well as browsers, and other apps. Smartphones typically canaccess the Internet and have a touchscreen user interface. Other typesof user devices could be used including personal computers, tabletcomputers, as well as, systems that are involved with exchange ofsensitive data, such as access control systems and intrusion detectionsystems.

Other form factors can be used to house the identity wallet 13 a such aswearables. Other aspects of identity can include biometrics. Forillustrative purposes, the discussion will focus on the user devices 12a, 12 b as being smartphones. The identity wallets 13 a, 13 b are housedin the smartphones. As used herein an identity wallet includes anapplication that executes on an electronic device, such as the userdevices 12 a, 12 b, and which allows a user of the device to storeidentity information, encrypt such identity information and communicatewith external systems via communication functions/circuitry on thesmartphone.

Identity Wallets 13 a, 13 b are also used to authenticate credentials ofthe holder of the particular wallet, as well as other wallets and othersystems/devices, as will be discussed below. The term “wallet”encompasses an arrangement of three major systems, an electronicinfrastructure, an application that operates with the system and thedevice (e.g., smartphone) that holds the wallet. In the discussionbelow, the holder's proprietary data is associated with the wallet. Forexample, many pieces of identifying information can be stored in thewallet.

Such information can be diverse and wide-ranging, such as, bank accountinformation, as well as the holder's information such as driver'slicense, health records, health care, loyalty card(s) and other IDdocuments stored on the phone, social security no., etc. All of thisinformation can be stored in some manner and/or linked to the wallet. Inparticular stored in this wallet are pieces of information identifyingthe holders credentials, etc. Systems are broadly defined as mechanical,electromechanical, and electronic systems, such as computers. Many ofsuch systems will have a component of which is computer controlled.Software is defined as the programming code tangible stored and residingin an electronic machine, such as a computer system, and which coded isexecutable or executing under normal conditions.

In the discussion below, in particular, the wallet 13 a holds a user'scredentials. One type is the user's credentials that are needed foraccess to the vehicle.

The system 10 also includes a distributed ledger system 14. Thedistributed ledger system 14 is a sequential, distributed transactiondatabase. An example of a sequential, distributed transaction databaseis the so-called “Blockchain” that operates with cryptocurrencies, suchas “bitcoin”® (bitcoin project.org). The distributed ledger 14 ratherthan being dedicated to managing cryptocurrencies, manages PIItransactional records and other types of records, rather thancryptocurrencies, and serves as the backend for a distributed access andverification system. The distributed ledger system 14 interacts with theuser's wallet as well as third party systems to register user's andallow user access to the vehicle. While sharing some similarities to theBlockchain as well as other known types of sequential transactiondatabases, the distributed ledger 14 has some significant differences.

Accordingly, the distributed ledger 14 has a structure as set out below.In some implementations of the distributed ledger 14, the system 10 alsoincludes a service broker system 16 that is a third party service systemthat interfaces between the wallet 13 a and the distributed ledger 14.In other implementations, the service broker system 16 is not needed.

From the distributed ledger 14 encrypted PII data upon request aretransmitted to third party systems, as well as sending to third partysystems listings of verifying systems, upon receiving access requestsfrom the third party system. The service broker includes a hardwareplatform. For example, with a self-contained enterprise example, theService Broker would include a hardware platform (e.g., a servercomputer system), a server operating system and a “calculator/attesteralgorithm” (discussed below). The “calculator/attester algorithm” wouldbroker between the source and target peer-to-peer entities such that aminimal amount of information required to legitimize and execute aninformation exchange between the source and target is determined,exchanged, and validated so that a “transaction” can occur. The recordof the transaction is written into the distributed ledger 14 with theminimum amount of PII or MII information, if any, including any metadataregarding the transaction or the information

The system 10 also includes external systems 18. In some examples theseexternal systems 18 are third party systems 18 a. The third party system18 a can be any electronic system (or device) and is the system/devicethat seeks some aspect of the PII or other confidential information of auser or held by the user device 12 a, associated with the user. In theexamples discussed below the external systems can be registrationsystems 18 b, in other examples the external systems can be motorvehicles to permit physical access as well as control (starting) of thevehicle. By physical access is meant access to a physical item, such asa motor vehicle, e.g., car, truck, etc. In the processes discussedbelow, some or all of the aforementioned user device 12 a, wallet 13 a,distributed ledger 14, optionally service broker 16 and third partyaccess system 18 are used.

Driver Management

Various systems employed in vehicles contain dedicated microprocessorsthat run firmware to measure various parameters. For example, batteryproducts are ever increasingly containing microprocessors that runfirmware to measure battery load, voltage, temperature etc. andcommunicate directly with the main vehicle computer system.

Referring now to FIG. 1A, a networked arrangement 20 for monitoringvehicle access and operation is shown. The arrangement 20 will bedescribed in reference to accessing of a motor vehicle 21 such as a car.The arrangement involves vehicle electronic control equipment 21 a thatincludes access control systems 22 a, other vehicle systems such asthose that monitor vehicle operation and environmental systems (notshown), ignition systems 22 b to start the vehicle, and potentialdriver-testing devices 22 c that test the status of the potentialdriver. Examples of potential driver-testing devices 22 c includebreathalyzer devices that analyze a potential driver's breathe to testthe level of intoxication of the potential driver. Other potentialdriver testing devices 22 c can be devices that measure an extent ofother types of potential driver impairments to safe operation of thevehicle.

The arrangement 20 uses the distributed network IAM system 10 (FIG. 1)for access control to a vehicle. The arrangement 20 includes userdevices 12 that are carried by the user that act as, e.g., a “virtualkey” for entry into the vehicle. In the discussion below, an externalsystem 18 a is configured to determine whether a given user hasprivileges or authorization to enter and operate the vehicle. Thearrangement also includes a specific one 12 a of the user devices(generally 12) that houses the digital wallet (wallet) 13 a, asdiscussed in FIG. 1.

Referring now to FIG. 1B, an overall view of an embodiment 19 of the IAMsystem 10 used in conjunction with the vehicle 21, e.g., automobile isshown. When a potential driver enters the vehicle 21, the driverpresents 19 a his/her identity to the vehicle. The identity is presentedthrough a wireless connection between an application on a user devicesuch as the smartphone 12 a to the IAM system 10. In one embodiment, theapplication is an identity wallet 13 a on the smartphone 12 a. A systemexecuting an application on a vehicle computer (either the main computersystem or another system such as a battery system), in the vehiclereceives 19 b credentials from the user device and connects 19 c to theIAM system via an Internet connection. Examples of requested informationinclude birth date, driver license number, home address etc. The IAMsystem is a specific implementation of a cloud based service thatvalidates the driver's identity and whether the driver is authorized todrive the vehicle. This could be used, as one example, when employees ofa company can only use the vehicle during specified hours on specifieddays and also determines the driver's identity, if the driver has therequisite training to operate the class of vehicle.

The application on the vehicle computer receives 19 d from the IAMsystem a decision regarding validation of the received credentials ofthe driver. If acceptable 19 e, the application in one embodiment willengage 19 f with the ignition system of the vehicle to allow the driverto start the vehicle (shown as a dashed line). If not acceptable 19 gthe application will engage with the ignition system of the vehicle toblock starting of the vehicle.

In some implementations, sensors can be deployed to sense presence ofintoxicants 19 h (alcohol or drugs, such as marijuana, etc.). That is,the system (either the main computer system or another system such as abattery system), in the vehicle can also be coupled to other sensorsthat gather data to be used to ascertain whether the potential driver isfit to drive the car. One example of such a sensor is a sobrietychecking sensor. If impaired 19 i application will lock the ignitionsystem 19 g. Otherwise, if not impaired, the application will engage 19f with the ignition system of the vehicle to allow the driver to startthe vehicle (shown as dashed lines).

Thus, if the system determines that the driver is not authorized or isincapable of operating the car, the system will not start the car. Inone particular example, the battery system determines fitness and willnot provide power to start the engine should the potential driver beascertained as unauthorized or unfit.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a specific implementation 24 of the networkedarrangement 20 for monitoring vehicle access is shown. In thisarrangement, the vehicle is a rental vehicle and rental arrangements aremade via an on-line transaction 24 a. The details of the actual on-linetransaction are not included in this discussion, as for the most partthe details of the actual on-line transaction would be similar to thosefor conventional rental of a vehicle where a user presents a license,etc. at a rental agency counter. Suffice it here to say that thetransaction includes a user making a reservation for a vehicle, payingfor the vehicle via a credit card or other mode such as a virtualcurrency, e.g., Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.

However, as part of the transaction upon completion of the reservationof the rental vehicle the arrangement either presents 24 b a list ofauthenticating items that the potential driver will need to presentelectronically when the potential driver picks up the vehicle.

In an implementation that will be discussed in detail, below part of thetransaction includes a registration process 24 c to establish via theregistration process 24 c verified personal authenticating items in thepotential driver's wallet. As part of the registration process 24 c,(discussed in FIG. 3) the potential driver's device 12 a, e.g., wallet13 a shares 24 c with the IAM system 10 (FIG. 1), personal informationthat is validated 25 b by the IAM system (i.e., with entities that arepart of the distributed ledger 14 such as, for example, a governmentalentity). Authenticating items will generally include a driver's licenseand/or one or more credit cards, including a credit card that thepotential driver carries and which was used to pay for the rental, or inthe case of use of a virtual currency a transaction record associatedwith the use of the virtual currency with payment of the rental andbirth date, driver license number, home address etc. Otherauthenticating items could be used.

When a potential driver enters (or arrives at) the vehicle, thepotential driver presents his/her identity to the vehicle through awireless connection between an application on a potential driver devicesuch as the smartphone 12 a to the IAM system 10. The arrangement 24uses the motor vehicle's 21 vehicle electronic control equipment 21 athat includes the access control system 22 a. The access control systemincludes in addition to conventional vehicle access systems, acredential reader (via wireless near field device technology) that reads24 d potential driver credentials in the user wallet 13 a (in contrastto reading a manually entered code, or a code embedded in a physical keyor a physical fob which are dedicated to such function, etc.). Theidentity wallet 13 a on the smartphone 12 a connects to a system in thevehicle, which executes an application. The system is in the vehicle.The system can be the main computer system or another system such as abattery system that includes a computing device. The system reads 24 dthe credentials from the potential driver device and connects to the IAMsystem 10 via an Internet connection and sends the read credentials forverification.

The system in the vehicle receives results 24 f of the verificationrequest from the IAM system 10. Upon verification 24 f of credentialssupplied by the potential driver's the arrangement 24 controls theignition system 22 b to allow the potential driver to enter and to startthe vehicle. Upon entering the arrangement 24 can also use the motorvehicle's 21 vehicle electronic control equipment 21 a to interface 24 gwith optional potential driver-testing devices 22 c that test 24 h thestatus of the potential driver. Either one or both can be used tocontrols the ignition systems 22 b to allow the potential driver tostart the vehicle. Also, verification can be used to allow the potentialdriver to merely start the vehicle or to enter and start the vehicledepending on implementation. Upon failure of verification 24 i ofcredentials supplied by the potential driver's the arrangement 24controls the ignition system 22 b to allow the potential driver to enterand to start the vehicle.

Registration

Referring now to FIG. 3, the registration process 24 c (FIG. 2.) usesthe distributed network IAM system 10 (FIG. 1) to verify credentials inthe user's wallet 13 a, which effectively loads onto the user device 12a key for entry into and starting of the vehicle. In the discussionbelow, an external system 18 a is configured to determine whether agiven potential driver has privileges or authorizations to enter andoperate the vehicle. The arrangement also includes the user device 12 athat houses the digital wallet (wallet) as discussed in FIG. 1. Thisregistration process 26 could also be used at the time of potentialdriver arrival at the vehicle to satisfy the requirement ofauthenticating credentials that the potential driver will need topresent electronically (see 24 b, FIG. 2).

The potential driver can register, e.g., pre-register, with a systemthat performs rental and verification processing for a rental agency.Pre-registration can be before during or subsequent to completion of arental transaction. As part of pre-registration, the potential driver'sdevice 12 a, e.g., wallet 13 a shares 25 a with the IAM system 10 (FIG.1), personal information that is validated 25 b by the IAM system (i.e.,with entities that are part of the distributed ledger 14 such as, forexample, a governmental entity). If validated 25 d, the process 24 ccauses a download 25 d of a mobile application to their device, e.g.,smartphone 12 a and the process tests 25 d if a transaction wasgenerated. If a transaction was not generated, the process 24 c waitstill the transaction is generated (or the process 24 c can exit or takeother action). When the transaction is generated, a QR code, or otherelectronic code is sent 25 e to the potential driver's device 12 aand/or wallet 13 a. The QR code or other electronic code will includeidentifying code of the vehicle used for the rental transaction, as wellas a location of the vehicle, description, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 4, at check in the potential driver scans 27 a theQR code or processes the electronic code. From the scan of the QR code(or processing of the electronic code) the device receives 27 bcredentials of the vehicle. The credentials of the vehicle are scannedand compared to credentials of the vehicle reserved for the user. Ifthere is a match the user can share its credentials.

The device also receives 27 c the listing of the personal informationrequired. If the potential driver had not previously registered thewallet with its credentials with the system 27 d, the listing will bedisplayed to the potential driver and will allow the user device uponverification of the credentials of the vehicle by the user device torelease the personal information required from the user wallet. Thesystem will send 27 e the authenticating items to the IAM system 10. Theprocess of FIG. 3 could be used/adapted for this verification.

If verified 27 f, or if the potential driver had registered the walletwith its credentials with the system, e.g., during the transaction (FIG.2, 24 c), the wallet 13 a (user device 12 a) sends 27 g the credentialedcode to the vehicle. If the code is verified (FIG. 2, 24 e),verification of the codes causes the vehicle to be unlocked and allowsthe potential driver to start the vehicle (e.g., pushbutton starting).If there is neither a match at 27 c or verification at 27 f, the processcan exit, indicate an error or take other action 27 h. In either case,release of personal information is according to the processes describedbelow.

As mentioned, in some implementations sensors are deployed and sensorprocess (shown in phantom for both cases) is executed to sense presenceof intoxicants (alcohol or drugs, such as marijuana, etc.) (see 19 h,FIG. 2). That is, the system (either the main computer system or anothersystem such as a battery system), in the vehicle ascertains whether thepotential driver is fit to drive the car, as discussed above. Thus, ifthe system determines that the driver is not authorized or is incapableof operating the car, the system will not start and/or unlock the car,as appropriate.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the distributed ledger system 14 is shown. Asmentioned, the distributed ledger system 14 is a sequential, distributedtransaction database. The distributed ledger system 14 thus includesdistributed databases 32 a-32 n that are typically existing in the“Cloud.” The distributed database comprise storage devices 34 a-34 nthat are attached to different interconnected computers 36 a-36 n. Thedistributed databases are controlled by a distributed databasemanagement system that controls storage of data over a network 38 of theinterconnected computers and execute corresponding replication andduplication processes. Replication software (not shown) detects changesin the distributed database contents and once the changes have beendetected, replicates the changes to have all the databases the same.Duplication software (not shown) identifies one database (not shown) asa master and then duplicates that database across other databases.Replication and duplication keep the data current in all distributedstorage locations.

Each of the distributed databases 32 a-32 n that form the distributedledger system 14 store encrypted information records. Typically therecords will be a hash of an information record or a hashed pointer toan information record. In theory, assuming that the distributeddatabases 32 a-32 n could be hacked, a hacker will not access the actualdata in information records, but only a hash of the actual data. Anexemplary record 40 is shown below. The record 40 is stored in each ofthe distributed databases 32 a-32 n that form the distributed ledgersystem 14, which stores the record 40 in an encrypted form in thedistributed ledger system 14. Record 40 has a structure that includes anattribute type, a hashed and encrypted value of the attribute, anattester's digital signature of the hashed and encrypted value and theattester's address. An exemplary record format is set out in tablebelow.

User Hashed and Attribute Encrypted Value Attester Signature AttesterAddress Attribute encrypt(attribute) Signature of encrypt Address(value)

An exemplary set of records is set out in table below. A set 42 of suchrecords 40 can correspond to a user's profile. This set 42 (or profile)is added to with new records as new attributes of the user are added tothe distributed ledger system 14.

Hashed and Encrypted User Attribute Value Attester Signature AttesterAddress Citizenship encrypt(USA) Signature of encrypt attst@cadmv.com(USA) Current Age encrypt(age) Signature of encrypt attst@cadmv.com(age) Home Address encrypt(address) Signature of attst@cadmv.comencrypt(address) Height encrypt(height) Signature of encryptattst@cadmv.com (height) Access encrypt Signature of secure@serv.comcredentials (credentials) encrypt(credentials) * * * * * * * * * * * *

One can readily observe that what is stored in the distributed ledgersystem 14 is information about a user's attribute, a hash of thatattribute, information about an attester to the attribute, whichinformation is attester signature system, and attester address. Theattester when contacted can attest to the requested information beingvalid. For example, given a user's birth certificate that is issued by astate governmental agency that state governmental agency converts thebirth certificate to a digital file of the document, and that digitizedfile of the document is hashed to provide a hash of the digitized birthcertificate document. Rather than the document itself being stored (orthe digitized document being stored, what is stored is the hash of thedigitized birth certificate document, that is stored in a user's profilein the distributed ledger 14.

Within a domain, distributed ledgers exchange information to maintainidentical ledgers, with any suitable so called sequential transactiondatabase technology of which “Blockchain” technology is but one example.However, unlike some electronic currency based technologies, e.g.,bitcoin, where the Blockchain is designed so that no entity controls theBlockchain in some examples disclosed herein using the techniquesdisclosed herein the transaction database technology actually exchangesinformation within a domain and because such domains could be privatetransaction databases, each entity or industry could structure thetransaction database as different private transaction databases.

Referring now to FIG. 6, the broker system 16 is shown. The brokersystem 16 includes a computer system and executes software thathandshakes between the user system 12 and the vetting agent or attester.Rather, than the user device 12 a accessing the distributed ledger 14,all requests for transactions between the user device and the requestingdevice occur through the broker system 16. For some transactions, thebroker system 16 accesses the distributed ledger system 16, whereas inother transactions the requesting system 18 accesses the distributedledger system 16.

As shown in FIG. 6, the broker system 16 can be a compilation of manysuch broker systems 16 a-16 n. Each of the broker systems 16 a-16 n cancomprise computer systems and associated distributed databases. Thebroker systems 16 a-16 n are distributed over a network of servers thatact together to manage the distributed ledger 14. All attribute hashedvalues, attester information, etc. are stored in the distributed ledger14 and as the flow diagram below will show the broker systems 16 a-n areconfigured to access the distributed ledger 14 to obtain and validatesuch information. Also shown in FIG. 6, are the encryption anddecryption (E/D) of data flows that take place between the brokersystems 16 a-n and wallets 13 a.

Note that in the context of a private distributed ledger environment,for an enterprise, it may be desirable to not have a query sent to theattester database for each transaction. Rather, a business rule could beestablished that once a validation event has occurred, then it is goodfor a period of time, until the attester database is updated etc., so asto reduce latency.

Referring now to FIG. 7, the wallet 13 a is shown. The wallet 13 aincludes a file 52 structure and wallet management software 54 that arestored on a user device 12 a (FIG. 1). In addition to the softwarecomprising management modules 54 a that handle request and access to thefile structure, as well as receiving user authorizations, etc., thesoftware also includes communication modules 54 b that exchangeinformation between the wallet and requestor systems, and between thewallet and the broker system 16 (when used) and that receives requestsfor information that result in messages being displayed on the userdevice 12 a.

The wallet 13 a stores information for handling a third party requestfor data directly from a user that transmits that information directlyfrom the wallet 13 a to the third party system 18 in a secure manner.The wallet 13 a may take several form factors—a physical ID Wallet suchas a credit card, smart wearable etc. or it may only need to be thesoftware payload that a system pushes out to a commercially acceptablemobile device such as a smartphone. In some implementations, the walletneeds to be in communication with a device that can performcalculations/determinations, as will be discussed below.

The wallet 13 a has the management module 54 a that handles third partyrequests for information and/or attributes and the communication module54 b that interfaces with the broker system 16. The wallet 13 a includesa module 54 c that allows a user to view the request and either approve,all or part of none of the request. Upon approval (partial or all) ofthe request, the wallet 13 a encrypts via encryption module 55 therequested information using a public key infrastructure (PKI) where apublic key of the third party is used along with one the private keysassociated with the wallet 13 a to encrypt the data. The encrypted datacan either be sent to the user's broker system 16 or the wallet 13 a canlook up the direct address of the third party system 18 and send theencrypted data directly to the third party system 18, depending on theimplementation of the system 10.

As known, a public key infrastructure (PKI) is a set of hardware,software, people, policies, and procedures needed to create, manage,distribute, use, store, and revoke digital certificates and managepublic-key encryption. The purpose of a PKI is to facilitate the secureelectronic transfer of information for a range of network activitiessuch as e-commerce, internet banking and confidential email. PKI isrequired for activities where simple passwords are an inadequateauthentication method. In cryptography, PKI binds public keys withrespective user identities by means of a certificate authority (CA)within a CA domain. The user identity is unique within each CA domain.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a diagram of a process 60 and flow for theprocess 60 where the system 18 a requests information from the usersystem 12 a. In this case, the broker system 16 provides an asynchronoustransfer between the user device 12 a and the third party device 18. Thethird party device 18 sends a message request 61 a to the distributedledger 14 for the user's broker system. In general, there can be manysuch broker systems associated with many users. The third party device18 receives 61 b a message that includes an address of the user'sdetermined broker, as received from the distributed ledger. (In thefollowing figures, as needed, double arrowed lines and referencecharacters on tips of such arrows are used to denote paired messages,such as sending and receiving messages.) In other implementations, theaddress lookup can also go through the exchange network.

In an implementation that uses a broker, the third party device 18(system discussed below) sends 62 a message to the user's determinedbroker 16, which message includes a request to access data on the user'swallet 13 a. The request for data is sent 64 from the broker system 16.A “score” is calculated for determining the validity of the data (ratherthan being a measure of the secure transmission of the data). A scoringalgorithm can be based on the number and types of attesters, etc., tothe user's wallet 13 a on device 12 a. Various algorithms can be usedsuch as one that weights types of attesters and number of attesters andnormalized these to a standard. Thus, a score generated with a largenumber of highly trusted attesters would be higher than a scoregenerated with a large number of attesters having a low level of trust.An alternative to this type of score is an attester score based on thetype of attester and how trustworthy the attester is and has been. Forexample, see the following table.

Number of Number of attesters of attesters of Number of attesters of lowScore high trust moderate trust trust  0-10 0 0 No more than X 11-20 0 0Greater than X less than Y 21-40 0 At least M * * * * * * * * * * * *91-100 At least Z

One algorithm, as in the table above, is a mapping scheme that maps ascore range (or values) to various slots based on empirically determinednumber of attesters (M, X, Y, Z) and empirically determined trust levels(high, moderate, low). This could be an example of a score for an item.Thus, with an item could be stored the number of and types of attestersof various categories (three of which, low, moderate and high trustlevels being shown) or the score range or value.

Other scoring algorithms such as weighted algorithms could be used, suchas one of the form:Score=((H*W _(h) +M*W _(m) +L*W _(h))/total)/Normalized

-   -   Where H is the total of high trusted attesters        -   M is the total of moderately trusted attesters        -   L is the total of low trusted attesters    -   W_(h); W_(m); W_(h) are empirically determined weights, and        Normalized is an optional normalization function or value.

The user's wallet 13 a (or other application or user via a physicalaction using a user input device) either answers (yes or no) or simplyignores the message. When the answer is yes, the user's wallet 13 a (orother application) encrypts the data using an asymmetric encryptionalgorithm that uses the requestor's public key. The encrypted data issent 66 from the user's wallet 13 a to the broker system 16 so that onlythe two endpoints (user's wallet 13 a and the third party system 18) canread the actual data. At the broker 16 system, upon reception of theencrypted data from the user's wallet 18 a, the broker system 16 sendsthe data to the third party system 18.

In another implementation, the data would be sent directly to therequestor's wallet without the broker system 16. This implementation canbe especially used with the processes discussed below. In the processesbelow, this direct approach is used in the explanations of thoseprocesses.

Referring now to FIG. 9, another process 70 is shown in which there is arequired validation of PII data through a distributed public ledger 14a. The distributed ledgers can be public, meaning that anyone can placeand/or access data in the ledger or private, meaning that onlyauthorized individuals and entities can place and/or access the privatetype of ledger. Thus, generically, such distributed ledgers 14 can bepublic or private depending on various considerations. In eitherinstance, the ledger 14 contains the information needed to validate thebrokered information. The third party system 18 sends 72 a lookuprequest to the distributed ledger 14 a for a particular user'sattribute.

In FIG. 9, the broker 16 and wallet 13 a and user device 12 a are notdirectly involved, but are shown. The lookup request is actually for ahash of the desired user's attribute. The distributed public ledger 14 areceives the request and accesses the hash of the particular user'sattribute and returns 72 b that hash to the third party system 18. Thethird party system 18 sends 74 a a look up message request for thesystem that has attested to the hash of the particular user's attributestored in the distributed public ledger 14 a. The third party system 18receives 74 b the identity of the system that performed the attestationto the hash of the particular user's attribute, and makes an independentdecision 75 on the validity of the hash of the particular user'sattribute. For cases where privacy of the data is a concern this caseassumes that the third party system has the user's public key, as theattribute data is encrypted. For other types of data where privacy ofthe data is not a concern, the attribute need not be encrypted.

Note, in addition to returning the attester information, the systemcould return the attester score of that attester having the highestscore. The score could be calculated by the distributed ledger 14, butmay be more appropriately calculated by the broker system.

Referring now to FIG. 10, another process 80 is shown in which there isrequired validation of data through a private distributed ledger 14 b.The third party system 18 sends 82 a a message to a broker directorysystem 15 to locate the user's (potential driver's) broker system. Thebroker directory system 17 determines the user's broker system and sends82 b a message to the third party system 18, which includes the identityof the user's broker system. The third party system 18 sends 84 amessage to the determined broker system 16, which is a request to theuser's broker system 16 to validate data and return score data. Thereare many algorithms that could be used for scoring. For example, asimple algorithm may assign a score to an attester as high, when theattester is a governmental agency and may score an attester as lowerwhen the attester is a personal contact. The user's broker system 16validates data by sending 86 a a message to the distributed ledger 14 bfor the data and the score (of the data or the attester). The brokerreceives 86 b from the distributed ledger 14 b a message including thedata and the score(s). The user's broker system 16 returns 88 thescore(s) and status back to the third party system 18.

One approach for a private enterprise would be for an enterprise todefine business rules that govern source attester scores. The rulescould be absolutes. Alternatively, over time the system that determinesthe score builds “a transactional footprint” for transactions, which isbased on physical access points, logical access points, time of day,duration of use, etc. used with a transaction record. Initial algorithmsare determined at the initial deployment, and then are refined basedupon a regression pattern(s) that emerges.

Optionally, the third party system 18 requests 92 a a lookup of thebroker/owner for the party that verified the data. The third partyreceives 92 b the address of the broker/owner that verifies the data.The broker/owner system that verifies the data signs the data with itsdigital signature. The broker/owner system sends 94 a a message to theverifying broker/owner to verify a signature of the signed data. Uponreceiving 94 b a verification from the verifying broker/owner system,the third party system has verification of the data without actuallyhaving accessed the data. Optionally, the user can share 96 the data tobe validated with the third party directly from the user's wallet.

Another process (not shown) can be used in which a third party requestsvalidation of an attribute without actually disclosing the attribute. Inthis process the wallet 13 a does not send a hash of the attribute, butallows a third party to request the verification of the attribute fromthe exchange. The rule is submitted to the exchange of the user (i.e.the request to validate if the user has a valid driver license and/or anabsence of a criminal record or outstanding moving violations). The userwould authorize the exchange for this rule to be processed. A trustedparty attests to the valid driver license and/or the absence of acriminal record or outstanding moving violations.

Credential-Based Registration System

Described below are aspects of a mobile credential. The mobilecredential is stored in a user's wallet 13 a and is identified asauthentic by use of the distributed ledger 14. The distributed ledger 14is used to supply secure credentials to the user's wallet 13 a all ofwhich have been validated by the distributed ledger 14. The mobilecredential is used to produce an access token that has a finite lifespanthat is determined according to the estimate provided by the system ofFIG. 4, and which can be adjusted. With the processes described below,the reader system can verify the access token as authentic and beingfrom the user, and the user's wallet 13 a can verify the vehicle as thevehicle to which the user should exchange credentials.

Referring now to FIG. 11, a credential-based registration/access system180 that is a specialization of the system of FIG. 1, without the use ofa broker system, is shown. The credential-based registration/accesssystem 180 (registration/access system 180) is used for registration ofa mobile credential with an access control system (not shown) usingregistration process 188 a, the details of which will be discussedbelow. The registration/access system 180 includes the user device 12 ahaving the wallet 13 a. It is understood that a practical implementationwould in general involve many such user devices/wallets of many users.The user device 12 a and wallet 13 a will be registered with the accesscontrol system and verified for use with the access control system. Theregistration allows a specific vehicle to be registered by the mobilecredential.

The credential-based registration/access system 180 (system 180) alsoincludes a vehicle system 184 including a vehicle wallet 187 and avehicle application 188 that together with the user device 12 aregisters and verifies users, e.g., employees of an entity controllingthe physical premises or logical structures, by use of the distributedledger 14 and the distributed network server computers 190. The userdevice and the system can be any type of computing system, computingstation, computer server, tablet device, etc., that includes Bluetooth®or other near field communication capabilities that can send out abeacon signal, as discussed below. The application 188 causes the system184 to continually or periodically issue the beacon that is readable bythe user device 12 a to initiate a transaction with the system 184.

Referring now to FIG. 12, a credential-based registration process flow200 for registration of a mobile credential stored on the user device 12a (more specifically in the wallet 13 a) with access control systems isshown. Shown in FIG. 12, are user device processing (FIG. 12A), systemprocessing (FIG. 12B) and distributed system/distributed ledgerprocessing (12C). This credential-based registration process flow 200(registration process 200) is shown for the user device 12 a/wallet 13a, system 184/application 188, and the distributed servers 190 thatinteract with the distributed ledgers 14. The registration process 200allows a user to verify a vehicle. The registration process flow 200also allows the access control system to verify the identity of the userpossessing the mobile credential for permitting registration for accessto the vehicle. The described registration process 200 uses theapplication 188 to register and verify the user.

Referring now to FIG. 12A, the user device 12 a portion credential-basedregistration process flow 200 is shown. The user device 12 a listens 202for a beacon from the system. The beacon includes a message to cause theuser's device to initiate 204 a transaction with the server to send theuser's public key stored in the user's wallet 13 a. The user's publickey can be embedded in a code, such as a “QR”™ code (type of matrixbarcode) that is stored in the user's wallet 13 a. Other approachescould be used.

The user's wallet 13 a requests 206 from a wallet 187 of the system 184,e.g., application 188, an access QR code has embedded therein a vehiclepublic key. In some implementations, the vehicle public key as well as avehicle UUID (discussed below) are specific to a single physicalvehicle. However, in other implementations, the vehicle public key aswell as the vehicle UUID are specific to a plurality of vehicles of asingle or related set of services. From the wallet 13 a, a user profilecorresponding the user associated with the device 12 a is sent 208 tothe application 188. As used herein a UUID is an identifier, e.g., suchas a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) per the UUID identifierstandard that uses a 128-bit value.

Referring now also to FIG. 12B, the application 188 causes the system tocontinually or periodically issue 222, a beacon, e.g., an electronicsignal that is readable by the user device 12 a. The applicationreceives 224 the user's public key. A wallet 201 of the applicationsends 226 a QR code that has a vehicle public key. The applicationreceives 228 the user's profile corresponding the user associated withthe device 12 a. Upon receiving the user profile, the application 188sends 228 a message to distributed networked servers to search for theuser via the distributed ledger 14. This search would be for the user'sPII information.

Upon receipt 230 of a search result, if the user does not exist in thedistributed ledger system 14, then the system will produce 232 a faultmessage. If the user profile does exist it may be updated 234, ifneeded, based on the received profile information. The system sends 236updated user identity to the distributed ledger 14, along with thereceived public key to the distributed ledger system 14 where theprofile, public key of the user are stored.

At this juncture, the user has been verified. Thus, upon verification ofthe user, the vehicle can be assured that it can exchange credentialswith the user device 12 a and wallet 13 a. The system via theapplication 188 sends 238 a message to the distributed network serversto obtain the vehicle UUID and the vehicle public key from thedistributed ledger 14 and upon receiving the vehicle UUID and vehiclepublic key, sends 220 the vehicle UUID and the vehicle public key to thewallet 13 a for verification and storage. The wallet 13 a receives 210 amessage from the system, which contains the vehicle UUID and the vehiclepublic key. The wallet 13 a verifies 212 the vehicle public key usingsimilar processes as discussed above. If verified the user device 12 aand wallet 13 a can be assured that this is a vehicle for which the userdevice 12 a and wallet 13 a can furnish a mobile credential. Whenverified the wallet stores 214 the UUID and vehicle public key.

Referring now to FIG. 12C, the distributed servers receive 252 a messagefrom the system to conduct a search for a profile of the user. Thedistributed servers access 254 the distributed ledger 14. Thedistributed servers determine 256 if a profile exists by searching thedistributed ledger system 14 for a profile of the user. The distributedservers send 258 a result of the search, e.g., registered, notregistered, expired registration, etc. to the system 18.

Credential-Based User Access

Credential-based access processing for permitting access using aregistered mobile credential stored on the user device 12 a (morespecifically in the wallet 13 a) to an access control system, uses theuser device, access systems and the distributed system/distributedledger system. Access processing allows a user, e.g., user, to verify avehicle and vice-versa.

The credential process uses a credential exchange mechanism that allowsa user's wallet 13 a to verify the vehicle, obviating need for acentral, certificate issuing authority, by each vehicle having a uniquecertificate similar to those commonly found today in websitecertificates. However, in this instance, the company is the issuer ofthe certificate. This gives the ability to have the credential carrierroles and permissions, conveyed by the reader application exchanging theroles and permissions of a user, without having to go back to a centralservice. This allows local control (exchange process of certificates).The mobile wallet 13 a can access permissions from a central facility(one time load) without the local control having to go back to thecentral facility each time access is attempted.

User access to a vehicle can give door access to the vehicle, if theuser has a seal (discussed below) and is scheduled for access to thevehicle (e.g., rental). As used herein, a “seal” is a token that isregistered on a user' wallet 13 s to verify that the user has gonethrough an initial authentication process. This “seal” would contain asignature from the server 184 that validated the user's wallet underspecified conditions (time interval, level, etc.).

The user is registered and when the user shows up at the vehicle, theuser will scan an outside reader or the vehicle will sense credentialsto gain access. Details of these processes are discussed below.

Digital certificates are issued by a certificate authority orcertification authority (CA), i.e., an entity that issues and certifiesdigital certificates, which certification is used to verify theownership of a public key by the named entity associated with thecertificate. The certification enables others that rely upon signaturesor assertions made about the private key as corresponding to thecertified public key. In this model of trust relationships, a CA couldbe a third party or in some implementations could be the entity itselfrather than a trusted third party—trusted both by the owner of thecertificate and by parties that would be relying on the certificate.Public-key infrastructure (PKI) schemes feature certifying authorities.

Described is a vehicle application 188 to access and verify users orother service providers. The user's device 12 a listens for a beacon.The vehicle broadcasts a beacon (ID) that the user's device, e.g.,smartphone receives and, which the mobile wallet 13 a detects. The userdevice 12 a connects to the vehicle computer, and the wallet 13 a viathe device 12 a requests that the computer provide its credentials tothe user device 12 a. The beacon includes a message to cause the user'sdevice 12 a to initiate 604 a transaction with the application on thecomputer. The user's wallet 13 a requests 606 a vehicle certificate,OCSP and vehicle UUID (discussed below).

The user's device 12 a verifies 608 the credentials sent to the wallet13 a from the vehicle wallet 201, e.g., the vehicle certificate, theOCSP and the vehicle UUID. If valid, then the system will provide itsUUID, the vehicle certificate (public key for the vehicle) and companycertificate (e.g., public key of the rental company). The wallet 13 averifies if, the wallet 13 a, is paired with the rental company.

Since the mobile wallet knows the company's public key, the mobilewallet can trust that any packets signed by the company are valid andcan be trusted. When the mobile wallet 13 a accesses a vehicle, thevehicle provides its specific public key to the mobile device 12 a(wallet 13 a). Authenticity of the vehicle is determined by the wallet13 a through verification 608 of the vehicle's certificate. Theverification process has the wallet 13 a determine whether the vehiclecertificate was signed by the company. If the certificate was signed bythe company, then the wallet 13 a verifies that the vehicle certificateand the signature match because the wallet has the company's public keyand the wallet can verify the signature. If the signature is valid, thenthe wallet 13 a knows that the vehicle certificate is authentic.

Although the certificate is authentic the wallet needs to verify thatthe certificate has not been revoked. The wallet can do thisverification a number of ways.

Upon, the user's wallet 13 a verifying the vehicle credentials, e.g.,vehicle certificate, a revocation status and vehicle UUID, the user'swallet sends 610 a JWT message to the door kiosk app. The JWT messagefollows the so called JSON Web Token (JWT) format that is a JSON-basedopen standard (RFC 7519) for producing tokens that assert some number of“claims.” The generated tokens, as above, are signed by the tokenproducer's private key, so that door app in possession of the producer'spublic key is able to verify that the token is legitimate. An exemplaryJWT message is

JWT Format

Claims iss Issuer. The UUID of the Mobile Wallet aud The UUID of theReader being accessed exp Expiration time of the token. Set to 30seconds jti Unique token id. Server will track IDs over the expirationtime period to ensure not duplicate JWT calls are made iat Time thetoken was issued/created

The JWT contains the “iss” attribute which is a unique ID for thewallet. This unique ID is used by the reader or other system to obtainthe stored public key and the JWT can be verified. If the token is notvalid then an error response is sent to the wallet and access is notprovided. The JWT has an “aud” attribute that identifies the destinationof the token (i.e., the reader UUID). The JWT also includes an “exp”attribute that sets the expiration time of the token, and a “jti”attribute, i.e., and ID that can be used by the Reader or which can beused by an upstream system to ensure that the token can be used onlyonce during the validity time (i.e., replays would be prevented). The“iat” attribute indicates the time that the JWT was issued.

Thus, the application 188 can send to the user device containing thewallet 13 a a verified access or access error depending on the outcomeof the process. All exchanges are logged in the distributed ledger foraudit tracking, etc.

The JWT can also contain access policies that the reader can implementlocally. For example, the JWT could contain roles that the walletbelongs to and those roles can be used by the reader to determine if theaccess should be provided or not with all decisions being made by thereader unit. This provides reduced latency in comparison with acentralized system approach where decisions based on roles, etc. arecentrally made. The roles and access policies would be part of a JWTpayload. A requirement would thus be that those roles and policies wouldneed to be signed by the company and preferably would have an expirationdate.

The reader will trust those policies if they meet the validationcriteria which is composed of the follow types of checks:

The policies contain the wallet ID

The policies are signed by the Company

The policies are not expired

The specifics of the encoding of the JWT payload have not been provided.However, the payload could be a binary payload inside of the JWT, anencoded attribute, or could be a second JWT produced by the company thatthe mobile wallet provides in addition to its own JWT, i.e., the companyprovided JWT for access. This second JWT produced by the company wouldcontains the access policies, wallet id, and expiration time, would besigned by the company and the “iss” of the company.

Referring now to FIG. 13A, the user device 12 a portion 700 a of thecredential-based access process 700 is shown. The user device 12 alistens 702 for a beacon from a reader. The reader broadcasts a beacon(ID) that the smartphone receives and, which the mobile wallet detects.The user device 12 a connects to the reader, and the wallet 13 a via thedevice 12 a requests that the reader provide its credentials to theuser's device 12 a. The beacon includes a message to cause the user'sdevice 12 a to initiate 704 a transaction with the reader to connectwith the application on the reader. The user's wallet 13 a requests 706from a wallet 701 in the reader, e.g., application 188, a vehiclecertificate, OCSP and vehicle UUID (discussed below).

The user's device 12 a verifies 708 the credentials sent to the wallet13 a from the wallet 701 of the system 184, e.g., the vehiclecertificate, the OCSP and the vehicle UUID. If the reader is valid, thenthe reader will provide its vehicle UUID, the vehicle certificate(public key for the vehicle) as well as the company UUID and companycertificate (public key of the company). The wallet 13 a verifies if,the wallet 13 a, is paired with the correct vehicle.

Other approaches include the beacon ID being that of the company UUIDand if the wallet 13 a is paired with that company, the wallet 13 a (viathe device 12 a) then connects to the system and requests details. Thewallet 13 a via the device 12 a either connects and determines if thebeacon is from a valid system or the beacon ID itself is formatted suchthat beacon from a valid system informs the wallet 13 a that the beaconis from the reader and the wallet verifies the specifics by connectingto the reader.

The user's wallet connects to the application once the beacon isdetected. The application has the vehicle certificate, the vehicle UUID,and a revocation status, e.g., such as via the “Online CertificateStatus Protocol” (OCSP) as discussed above. Other approaches could beused.

Since the mobile wallet knows the company's public key, the mobilewallet can trust that any packets signed by the company are valid andcan be trusted. When the mobile wallet 13 a accesses the reader, thereader provides its vehicle specific public key to the mobile device 12a (wallet 13 a). The mobile wallet 13 a does not know if this vehicle isauthentic and part of the company that the wallet 13 a holds a mobilecredential for, and thus before the wallet 13 a exchanges itscredentials, the wallet 13 a needs to verify for certain that the readeris authentic.

Authenticity of the reader is determined by the wallet 13 a throughverification 708 of the vehicle's certificate. The verification processhas the wallet 13 a determine whether the vehicle certificate was signedby the company. If the certificate was signed by the company, then thewallet 13 a verifies that the vehicle certificate and the signaturematch because the wallet has the company's public key and the wallet canverify the signature. If the signature is valid, then the wallet 13 aknows that the vehicle certificate is authentic.

Although the certificate is authentic the wallet needs to verify thatthe certificate has not been revoked. The wallet can do thisverification a number of ways as discussed above, e.g. directly throughan OCSP request or with an OCSP response (i.e. OCSP stapling), asdiscussed above, or CRL.

Upon, the user's wallet 13 a verifying the vehicle credentials, e.g.,vehicle certificate, a revocation status and vehicle UUID, the user'swallet sends 710 a JWT message to the reader. The JWT message followsthe so called JSON Web Token (JWT) format discussed above. The generatedtokens, as above, are signed by the token producer's private key, sothat door kiosk app in possession of the producer's public key is ableto verify that the token is legitimate. The claims are used to passidentity of authenticated users between an identity provider and aservice provider. The tokens can be authenticated and encrypted. Uponverification of the JWT message by the servers, the servers cause thereader to send an access status message that is received 712 by thewallet 13 a, allowing or denying access.

Referring now also to FIG. 13B, the application 188 processing 700 bcauses the system reader to continually or periodically issue 722, thebeacon that is readable by the user device 12 a and which causes theuser device to request 724 a connection to the reader. As mentionedabove, the user device 12 a upon connecting to the reader has the readerprovide 726 its credentials to the user's device 12 a (wallet 13 a). Ifthe verification by the wallet was successful, the wallet sends the JWTmessage, and upon receipt 728 of the JWT message by the reader, the JWTis sent 730 to the distributed network to a server that is used toverify the JWT token. Upon verification of the JWT message by theservers, the servers send the reader an access status message that isreceived 732 and is sent 734 to the wallet 13 a allowing or denyingaccess to the vehicle.

Referring now also to FIG. 13C, the distributed servers/distributedledger processing 700 c is shown. The JWT is received 742 by thedistributed servers and is verified 744. If the JWT is not verified, anerror is raised 748 (see below). If the JWT is verified, 746 the user isgranted access 750, and an access control system grants the access andsends signal to unlock a door, etc. In addition, whether the JWT isverified or not verified, a corresponding entry record of either anaccess entry or an access denied entry is produced 752 as an access logthat is stored 754 and maintained in the distributed ledger system.

All exchanges are logged in the distributed ledger for audit tracking,etc. Records are added to the distributed ledger as transactions andinclude a hashed record of the transaction, what was exchanged, thesignatures of the parties, and may include additional detailedinformation depending on the type of distributed ledger used. Theinformation stored for audit can include the date and time that themobile wallet sent a JWT, the JWT parameters, and the access status orerror conditions.

Referring now to FIG. 14, components of system/devices are shown. Memorystores program instructions and data used by the processor. The memorymay be a suitable combination of random access memory and read-onlymemory, and may host suitable program instructions (e.g. firmware oroperating software), and configuration and operating data and may beorganized as a file system or otherwise. The program instructions storedin the memory may further store software components allowing networkcommunications and establishment of connections to the data network. Thesoftware components may, for example, include an internet protocol (IP)stack, as well as driver components for the various interfaces. Othersoftware components suitable for establishing a connection andcommunicating across network will be apparent to those of ordinaryskill.

Servers are associated with an IP address and port(s) by which itcommunicates with user devices. The server address may be static, andthus always identify a particular one of monitoring server to theintrusion detection panels. Alternatively, dynamic addresses could beused, and associated with static domain names, resolved through a domainname service. The network interface card interfaces with the network toreceive incoming signals, and may for example take the form of anEthernet network interface card (NIC). The servers may be computers,thin-clients, or the like, to which received data representative of analarm event is passed for handling by human operators. The monitoringstation may further include, or have access to, a subscriber databasethat includes a database under control of a database engine. Thedatabase may contain entries corresponding to the various subscriberdevices/processes to panels like the panel that are serviced by themonitoring station.

All or part of the processes described herein and their variousmodifications (hereinafter referred to as “the processes”) can beimplemented, at least in part, via a computer program product, i.e., acomputer program tangibly embodied in one or more tangible, physicalhardware storage devices that are computer and/or machine-readablestorage devices for execution by, or to control the operation of, dataprocessing apparatus, e.g., a programmable processor, a computer, ormultiple computers. A computer program can be written in any form ofprogramming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, andit can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or asa module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in acomputing environment. A computer program can be deployed to be executedon one computer or on multiple computers at one site or distributedacross multiple sites and interconnected by a network.

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, byway of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, andany one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, aprocessor will receive instructions and data from a read-only storagearea or a random access storage area or both. Elements of a computer(including a server) include one or more processors for executinginstructions and one or more storage area devices for storinginstructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or beoperatively coupled to receive data from, or transfer data to, or both,one or more machine-readable storage media, such as mass storage devicesfor storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or opticaldisks.

Computer program products are stored in a tangible form onnon-transitory computer readable media and non-transitory physicalhardware storage devices that are suitable for embodying computerprogram instructions and data. These include all forms of non-volatilestorage, including by way of example, semiconductor storage areadevices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash storage area devices; magneticdisks, e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto-opticaldisks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks and volatile computer memory, e.g.,RAM such as static and dynamic RAM, as well as erasable memory, e.g.,flash memory and other non-transitory devices.

In addition, the logic flows depicted in the figures do not require theparticular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirableresults. In addition, other actions may be provided, or actions may beeliminated, from the described flows, and other components may be addedto, or removed from, the described systems. Likewise, actions depictedin the figures may be performed by different entities or consolidated.

Elements of different embodiments described herein may be combined toform other embodiments not specifically set forth above. Elements may beleft out of the processes, computer programs, Web pages, etc. describedherein without adversely affecting their operation. Furthermore, variousseparate elements may be combined into one or more individual elementsto perform the functions described herein.

Other implementations not specifically described herein are also withinthe scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of monitoring use of an asset comprises:transmitting, to a user portable electronic device by an asset accessapplication executable in a computing system in the asset, credentialsassociated with the asset, wherein the user portable electronic deviceauthenticates the asset based on the credentials; receiving, from theuser portable electronic device and in response to the user portableelectronic device authenticating the asset, an electronic representationof a user's identity and an electronic representation of authenticatingitems, by the asset access application executable in the computingsystem in the asset, wherein the electronic representation of a user'sidentity and the electronic representation of authenticating items arestored in a distributed ledger comprising distributed databasescontrolled by a distributed database management system, the distributedledger configured to identify changes in the electronic representationof the user's identity and the electronic representation ofauthenticating items and replicate the changes across the distributeddatabases, wherein duplication software identifies a first database ofthe distributed databases as a master database and duplicates the masterdatabase across other databases such that the contents of thedistributed databases are the same; sending by the computing system toan identity and access management system the received electronicrepresentation of the user's identity and the electronic representationof authenticating items; receiving by the computing system from theidentity and access management system credentials that validate theelectronic representation of the user's identity and the electronicrepresentation of authenticating items; enabling by the computing systemaccess to the asset when the computing system receives the credentialsthat validated the user's identity and the electronic representation ofauthenticating items; and unlocking and preparing the asset to beoperated by the user.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the asset is aphysical asset and receiving the electronic representation of the user'sidentity, comprises: receiving a representation of personallyidentifiable information from a user wallet in the user portableelectronic device.
 3. The method of claim 2 further comprising: sendingby the computing system a request to the user portable electronic devicefor presentation of specific types of personally identifiableinformation from the user wallet.
 4. The method of claim 2 wherein therequested information includes one or more of birth date, driver licensenumber, home address, social security number.
 5. The method of claim 2wherein the requested information is represented as a verification fromthe identity and access management system of the representation of thepersonally identifiable information from the user.
 6. The method ofclaim 2 wherein the identity and access management system, comprises adistributed ledger system and a broker system with the broker system incommunication with the computing system and an electronic identitywallet carried on a user device.
 7. The method of claim 2 wherein theidentity and access management system, comprises a distributed ledgersystem in communication with the computing system and an electronicidentity wallet carried on a user device.
 8. The method of claim 2wherein the credentials received from the identity and access managementsystem are encrypted.
 9. The method of claim 2 wherein the vehicle isequipped with one or more sensors and the computing system receivessensor data and processes the sensor data to determine a status of theuser, and the method comprises enabling by the system the starting ofthe vehicle when the system determines the user has a non-impairedstatus.
 10. The method of claim 2 wherein the computing system includesa processor and memory.
 11. The method of claim 2 wherein the computingsystem is a computing system that controls a battery system in thevehicle and which computing system includes a processor and memory toexecute an application to receive a validation of the user's identityand the user authorization to drive the vehicle before applying batterypower to the remainder of the vehicle.
 12. A system for monitoring useof a vehicle comprises: a computing system including processor andmemory and storing computing instructions to cause the computing systemto: transmit, to a user portable electronic device, credentialsassociated with the vehicle, wherein the user portable electronic deviceauthenticates the vehicle based on the credentials; receive, from theuser portable electronic device and in response to the user portableelectronic device authenticating the vehicle, an electronicrepresentation of a user's identity and an electronic representation ofauthenticating items, by a vehicle access application executable in acomputing system in the vehicle, wherein the electronic representationof a user's identity and the electronic representation of authenticatingitems are stored in a distributed ledger comprising distributeddatabases controlled by a distributed database management system, thedistributed ledger configured to identify changes in the electronicrepresentation of the user's identity and the electronic representationof authenticating items and replicate the changes across the distributeddatabases, wherein duplication software identifies a first database ofthe distributed databases as a master database and duplicates the masterdatabase across other databases such that the contents of thedistributed databases are the same; send to an identity and accessmanagement system the received electronic representation of the user'sidentity and electronic representation of authenticating items; receivefrom the identity and access management system credentials that validatethe electronic representation of the user's identity and the electronicrepresentation of authenticating items; and enable starting of thevehicle when the computing system receives the credentials thatvalidated the user's identity.
 13. The system of claim 12 wherein thecomputing system is configured to send a request to the portableelectronic device for presentation of specific types of personallyidentifiable information.
 14. The system of claim 13 wherein theelectronic representation of a user's identity includes one or more ofbirth date, driver license number, home address, social security number.15. The system of claim 12 wherein the electronic representation of auser's identity is encrypted.
 16. The system of claim 12 wherein thecomputing system is a computing system that controls a battery systemwithin the vehicle.
 17. The system of claim 12 wherein the vehicle isequipped with one or more sensors and the computing system receivessensor data and processes the sensor data to determine a status of auser and enable the starting of the vehicle when the system determinesthe user has a non-impaired status.
 18. A computer program productstored on a non-transitory computer readable medium for monitoring useof a vehicle comprises instructions to cause a computing device to:transmit, to a user portable electronic device, credentials associatedwith the vehicle, wherein the user portable electronic deviceauthenticates the vehicle based on the credentials; receive, from theuser portable electronic device and in response to the user portableelectronic device authenticating the vehicle, an electronicrepresentation of a user's identity and an electronic representation ofauthenticating items, by a vehicle access application executable in acomputing system in the vehicle, wherein the electronic representationof a user's identity and the electronic representation of authenticatingitems are stored in a distributed ledger comprising distributeddatabases controlled by a distributed database management system, thedistributed ledger configured to identify changes in the electronicrepresentation of the user's identity and the electronic representationof authenticating items and replicate the changes across the distributeddatabases, wherein duplication software identifies a first database ofthe distributed databases as a master database and duplicates the masterdatabase across other databases such that the contents of thedistributed databases are the same; send to an identity and accessmanagement system the received electronic representation of the user'sidentity and the electronic representation of authenticating items;receive from the identity and access management system credentials thatvalidate the electronic representation of the user's identity and theelectronic representation of authenticating items; and enable startingof the vehicle when the computing system receives the credentials thatvalidated the user's identity.
 19. The computer program product of claim18 wherein the computing system is configured to send a request to theportable electronic device for presentation of specific types ofpersonally identifiable information.
 20. The computer program product ofclaim 19 wherein the electronic representation of a user's identityincludes one or more of birth date, driver license number, home address,social security number.